Team News

Liberty Softball Places 3 on VaSID All-State Team

Chase Cassady, Amber Bishop and Julia DiMartino were named to the VaSID All-State University Division Softball Team.

Liberty placed three players on the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) University Division All-State Softball Team, as announced today.

Junior second baseman Amber Bishop was named to the VaSID All-State first team, while senior pitchers Julia DiMartino and Chase Cassady were tabbed as second-team selections.

The VaSID All-State program honors the top collegiate student-athletes in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Nomination and voting are conducted by sports information directors within the Commonwealth.

DiMartino is the first player in program history to earn All-State honors four times during her career. Meanwhile, Bishop joins Stacy Radulovich (1996-98) as the only two Liberty softball players all-time to earn first team All-State laurels as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Cassady receives her first career All-State mention.

Hailing from Murrieta, Calif., 2017 VaSID Rookie of the Year Amber Bishop is a three-time first team all-conference selection and three-time NFCA All-Region choice. Bishop was voted to the NISC All-Tournament Team at both the Regional and Championship rounds. She was named one of the top 100 players in Division I Softball by Softball America in a preseason listing. The junior batted a team-best .355 and led the ASUN with 72 hits and 13 home runs. A clutch hitter, Bishop hit two walk-off homers this season, including a walk-off grand slam that ended up on SportsCenter's Top 10 that night.

DiMartino, a four-time first-team all-conference selection and three-time NFCA All-Region choice, was named to the NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region first team for the second year in a row. Hailing from Brockport, N.Y., she finished the season with a 19-11 record, 1.20 ERA, six shutouts, six saves, 169 strikeouts and a .208 opponents' batting average. DiMartino ended the year ranked eighth nationally in ERA. The senior tossed a perfect game against Princeton and pitched in a combined no-hitter versus Quinnipiac. DiMartino holds most of Liberty's single-season and career pitching records.

Cassady, hailing from Orlando, Fla., was one of the top pitchers in the region this season. She went 15-4 with a 1.50 ERA. The right-hander was named to the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region second team and was voted NISC Lynchburg Regional MVP. Cassady finished the year ranked 24th in the nation in ERA. Her 0.69 ERA in conference play led all ASUN pitchers this spring. She improved her ERA every season at Liberty, lowering her ERA from 2.31 last year to 1.50 as a senior. Cassady tossed five shutouts and a one-hitter this year.

Liberty's pitching staff had a historic season, posting the fifth-best team ERA (1.60) in the nation. The team's 1.60 ERA was its second best in program history, while the Lady Flames tossed 19 shutouts. Liberty was one of three NCAA Division I softball teams (also WCWS finalists UCLA and Oklahoma) with multiple players in the top 25 in the nation in ERA.

The Lady Flames (40-22) wrapped up their third straight 40-win season, appearing in the postseason for the third consecutive year. Liberty earned its second Postseason NISC Regional title, qualifying for the NISC Championship Round for the second time in the last three years. Competing in the ASUN Conference for the first time, Liberty went 16-5 in conference play and placed second in the league standings.

James Madison received both Player of the Year (Kate Gordon) and Pitcher of the Year (Megan Good), while Virginia Tech took home both Rookie of the Year (Kelsey Bennett) and Coach of the Year (Pete D'Amour).

VaSID Player of the Year – Kate Gordon, Jr., James Madison VaSID Pitcher of the Year – Megan Good, R-Sr., James Madison VaSID Coach of the Year – Pete D'Amour, Virginia Tech VaSID Rookie of the Year – Kelsey Bennett, Virginia Tech